Vets and farmers have helped raise £5,000 for farming community charity, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution as part of Elanco Animal Health’s Pledge to Protect campaign.

Launched in July, the campaign encouraged farmers and vets to make a symbolic free ‘pledge’, either online or at events, to demonstrate their commitment to addressing the issue of immune suppression in dairy cows. For each pledge - tracked through the life-sized 2D cow, Pledge Cow - Elanco donated £5; money which will help support the work of R.A.B.I, a charity which assists UK farmers and their families in times of need.

The R.A.B.I cheque handover ceremony took place at the BCVA Congress in Leicestershire in the presences of hundreds of UK vets. They had gathered to learn more about the key congress themes of welfare and herd longevity – issues which chime with the goals of Elanco’s Pledge campaign.

Kingsley Baxendale, Elanco’s Ruminant Marketing Manager, is delighted with the support vets have shown the campaign: “Firstly, we would like to say a massive thank you to all the vets and farmers who engaged with the campaign and made their pledge. It’s been great to see the characteristic comradery of our industry in full swing, filling up the ‘Pledge Cow’ to raise an impressive sum of money to help farming families, as well as boosting awareness about how best to tackle immune suppression-related transition diseases, such as mastitis, for the benefit of our dairy herds.”

Suzy Deeley, R.A.B.I’s Corporate Development Manager, added: “The money raised will make a real difference to the lives of the farmers that our work supports. Our remit is varied and touches all aspects of farm life; from helping working farmers in times of difficulty – whether because of weather, disease, illness or accident - to supporting farmers in retirement, so every penny really does have an impact.”

The ‘Pledge to Protect’ initiative dovetailed with the launch of Elanco’s product Imrestor™; a revolutionary new way to address immune suppression in dairy cows, helping to prevent the transition disease mastitis and maximise the herd’s productivity potential.

Just as Pledge to Protect sought to protect farmers in need, Imrestor helps protect cows when they’re most vulnerable around calving by boosting their innate immunity through restoring the function and increasing the number of neutrophils.

Available in pre-filled, single-dose syringes, Imrestor is administered with two injections – one seven days prior to the anticipated date of calving and the other within 24 hours after calving – with neither injection requiring a withdrawal period.

To find out more about how Imrestor could benefit your clients’ herds and to read what others have to say about the product, visit www.imrestor.com or contact your Elanco Representative.